Catwoman is an interesting character in the right hands. One part hero, one part villain, one part feminist icon. Similar to Superman, the character is only as strong as her writing team. She can be a seductive thief, she can be a manipulative mastermind, she can be a tragic common criminal. The New 52 comic run was controversial to say the least. The Catwoman stories by authors Ann Nocenti and Judd Winick brought controversy as this run of comics was going to be the first to depict the characters of Batman and Catwoman actually hooking up. Not kissing on a rooftop, not flirting on a balcony after a tryst, an actual hook up between Catwoman and the Dark Knight himself. One could say this was a long time in the making or coming - to be cheeky.
The question is: do you actually want to know that they are doing this?
Bruce Wayne as a playboy is implied. It is also a cover for being The Dark Knight. Being a rich, powerful, and somewhat dumb playboy was always part of the actual mask. It is a distraction for the public. Bruce Wayne is a caricature. Long-time Batman fans would attest to, the real man is Batman and Bruce Wayne is the mask. The authors write this as if it is frequent and casual. Look, I’m not trying to bring morality into it here. I’m game for a quick hook up. At the end of the day, Catwoman, including her alter-ego Selina Kyle, is a criminal. It seems to go against the strict code of Batman to have a casual fling due to the fact that she is hot and dangerous. There are plenty of hot and dangerous women characters in the DC Comics pantheon that don’t necessarily break The Dark Knight’s code of honor.
Wasn’t Joe Chill just a thief at first too?
Down to brass tax - this comic is just horny. The New 52 run started in 2011, right around the time that the ‘50 Shades of Grey’ book series was at peak popularity. I bring this up because when Batman and Catwoman have sex, it’s graphic. Not in the sense that you see them do the dirty, but more from what the word bubbles say. Catwoman describes what Batman tastes like and that they are getting out unresolved anger. You get the impression that the sex is rough, passionate, and almost violent. You get the impression that Batman gets his. It’s essentially Batman smut. My main question is: who is this for? I’d assume that this is supposed to appeal to female readers. But I feel like they wouldn’t even care that much. Hey - guess what? Batman bangs in this one! Let me run to the comic shop as soon as possible! Save your lunch money! You would think they would almost have like ‘Digital Underground’ lyrics in the word bubbles:
“Gettin’ back to my mission, break out the whipped cream and the cherries
Then I go through all the fly positions:
My head under her leg under my arm under her toe
She says, ‘I like it when you scream, baby let yourself go.’
I hit it and split it, lick it and quit it.”
According to Batman lore, he has a son with Talia Al Ghul. Dude is setting up franchises. When Batman hooks up with Talia (Detective Comics #411 1971), the comic code authority was in full swing and went from 1954 all the way to, you’ll never guess: 2011 - when this comic came out. But it’s just unnecessary. Back in 1971, you didn’t need to show it. Batman kissing Talia was enough. Your imagination can fill in the blanks.
But does Batman keep on the costume?
Is there a button fly on the batsuit?
This comic suffers from the ‘Show don’t Tell’ pastiche. This is a visual medium - show us how particular characters became fences for stolen goods. I got the feeling while reading this that the writers were only allowed to do like a surface level Catwoman. It reads like a surface level story that you would maybe write if you were given like a half hour with the character and knew the bare minimum. The bare minimum in this case would be as follows:
She is basically a pornstar that wears a Cat costume
She is a master thief with a pretty flexible mortality system
Background is vague, the character history is more vague
She operates on the street level, interacting with street level goons
She uses a whip
She uses her intellect and sexuality as a weapon
Never is an explanation given as to why she can fight, why she is good at being a thief, and why she uses a whip. Outside of the fact that this is just what she does, roll with it - the comic is not very satisfying. Almost like you could write it without even thinking about it. Every Catwoman story is the same formula: Steal something, get in over your head, figure it out, run into the police/Batman, rinse and repeat. In this case the characters vary. It seems the writers were given liberty to create some new low level goons like a Black Mask rip-off character named ‘Bone.’ Who is he? Who cares? I could be wrong here, but the success of Batman wasn’t because readers are enamored with who he is, what he spends his time in the batcave doing, or who he is banging. Sure that’s part of it, but I believe that what brings people to Batman is the depth of story telling, especially in the villains. You have to make Catwoman interesting.
I think the best Batman stories are the street level stories when the character is facing the more realistic villains like the mob or the corrupt police. Catwoman could have similar grounded stories. Similar to a Punisher War Journal or The Amazing Spider-Man. Catwoman is a rogue’s gallery character, she doesn’t need her own rogue’s gallery like the Joker’s daughter. She just needs to be seen as vulnerable and human, not some infallible archetype. There is a very brief moment where Catwoman experiences a moment of tragedy: based on her own reckless behavior and immaturity. As a result, she gets someone killed. But then in the next couple pages, she is doing it again, and we are supposed to have an “Aww shucks…you can’t teach an old cat new tricks…” attitude. The character deserves better treatment.
Not all is lost. The new writers of Catwoman are exploring her past so it’s the dawn of a new day. But the price tag on this collection is near a hundred bucks. Although the art work is stunning, the stories contained inside of it are not. Unless you are a die hard Catwoman fan, I would think this might be a collection you’d be better off stealing. I think that would be the most Catwoman way to read this.